Author: John J. Donohue Publisher: Tuttle Publishing ISBN: 1462917518 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 190
Book Description
Complete Kendo is a thorough introduction to the Japanese martial way of the sword and a guided tour of the principles and philosophy upon which the art is founded. This martial arts guide covers everything from the care and handling of hakama, the pleated trousers worn by kendoka (practitioners of kendo), all in an easy conversational dialogue that is a great pleasure to read. Structured to echo the organization of the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, Complete Kendo is a modern version of the swordsman's primer by a martial artist skilled not only in the art of kendo but, like Musashi, in many traditional Japanese arts, and with a superb understanding of the martial tradition and culture of Japan. The author uses lessons learned from a long career of teaching martial arts and academic subjects to impart clearly and concisely the fundamentals of kendo and the martial way. With explanatory line drawings by Kathleen Sweeney illustrating significant points of discussion, a handy glossary of kendo terminology and related concepts, and an unusually helpful bibliography, Complete Kendo is an essential volume for every kendoka's personal library.
Author: Alexander Bennett Publisher: Tuttle Publishing ISBN: 1462921221 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 208
Book Description
This seminal work by historian Alexander Bennett presents a broad overview of the Japanese "Way of the Warrior" as it is expressed in scores of classical Japanese texts written by famous Samurai themselves. Bennett's analysis of these writings shows that the essential meaning of Bushido, the Samurai's code of conduct and ethics, evolved significantly over time--from the 12th century when the warrior class was elevated to become an elite group, to the 19th century when the Samurai class was suddenly disbanded. Bushido Explained takes a visual approach to presenting important concepts and terminology, helping readers easily navigate the complex world of the Samurai. The text is written in a highly accessible style, with sidebars presenting interesting concepts, facts and important Samurai figures who were central to Bushido's evolution. The different types of Bushido--which vary by region, time period and Samurai rank--are presented with over 300 informative diagrams and illustrations. No other book offers such a wide-ranging, yet clear analysis of Bushido--debunking myths and misconceptions about who the Samurai truly were. Bushido Explained presents a precise overview of Samurai ideals and culture in a logical, chronological order. Author Alexander Bennett--a professor of Japanese history, martial arts and Budo theory at Kansai university in Japan--uses this information and teaching methods in his Japanese Studies: Introduction to Bushido class. Now, readers all over the world can sit in on the unique lesson.
Author: Geoff Salmon Publisher: Tuttle Publishing ISBN: 1462911803 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 201
Book Description
Master the art of Kendo--Japanese Swordsmanship with this illustrated and comprehensive martial arts guide. Kendo or the "Way of the Sword" holds a special place within the martial arts as one of the few practices tracing back directly to Japan's ancient samurai heritage. Modern students flock to kendo for physically--and mentally--challenging activity that combines traditional martial arts values with strenuous physical activity. Author Geoff Salmon has over 40 years of kendo experience gained in and outside of Japan. His goal in this kendo guide is to dispel many misconceptions about the sport and to make kendo training accessible and effective for anyone. His simple, straightforward writing style is especially helpful for beginning students and martial artists from other disciplines who wish to add kendo training to their repertoire. The core of this kendo book is a series of detailed instructional sequences demonstrating the basic kendo techniques. The author also presents the fundamental principles and philosophy that make kendo as much an exercise of the mind as of the sword. For many adherents, the goal is to train your mind to achieve a state of mushin (no-mind). Beyond that, this book also shows you how to win competitions and integrate kendo into your personal fitness routines. This is the first book to clearly link the philosophical and mental elements of kendo to the physical techniques, thereby enabling readers to gain a holistic understanding of the martial art. It offers a comprehensive training program similar to those given by leading kendo teachers in Japan, past and present.
Author: G Hurst I Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 9780300116748 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 260
Book Description
This unique history of Japanese armed martial arts--the only comprehensive treatment of the subject in English--focuses on traditions of swordsmanship and archery from ancient times to the present. G. Cameron Hurst III provides an overview of martial arts in Japanese history and culture, then closely examines the transformation of these fighting skills into sports. He discusses the influence of the Western athletic tradition on the armed martial arts as well as the ways the martial arts have remained distinctly Japanese. During the Tokugawa era (1600-1867), swordsmanship and archery developed from fighting systems into martial arts, transformed by the powerful social forces of peace, urbanization, literacy, and professionalized instruction in art forms. Hurst investigates the changes that occurred as military skills that were no longer necessary took on new purposes: physical fitness, spiritual composure, character development, and sport. He also considers Western misperceptions of Japanese traditional martial arts and argues that, contrary to common views in the West, Zen Buddhism is associated with the martial arts in only a limited way. The author concludes by exploring the modern organization, teaching, ritual, and philosophy of archery and swordsmanship; relating these martial arts to other art forms and placing them in the broader context of Japanese culture.
Author: K. Black Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN: 9781537666938 Category : Exercise Languages : en Pages : 138
Book Description
Operational athletes are a unique breed. You need to physically perform at an extraordinarily high level in stressful situations. Often in dangerous or unstable environments. As a SWAT operator, combat-arms soldier, or first responder, you have to be a Jack of All Trades. Let's take that a step further. You have to achieve some degree of mastery. You have to be strong, have incredible levels of endurance, and be capable of sustained bursts of intense activity. All while tired, hungry, cold, or worse. You can't train like a bodybuilder. You can't be sore for a week after 'leg' day. You can't afford to specialize like a powerlifter. You have other abilities you need to develop, things like cardiovascular training, work capacity, and occupational skills. Anyone that's operational knows it's a constant juggling act trying to become (and stay) superhuman. Tactical Barbell is a strength training program designed specifically for operational athletes using correct principles and best practices. The objective being to increase maximal-strength and strength-endurance, while taking into account the need to simultaneously train other fitness domains. Periodization based, with a simple progression model that allows for a great degree of customization. You won't find cables, balance boards or medicine balls in this program. What you will get is a reliable, repeatable, cutting edge system to increase your strength dramatically. In a manner that leaves you time and energy to train all those other things you need to be good at. No fluff. No frills. If you live in the arena, you know talk is cheap. The program includes a built in strength testing component. You will know whether or not your strength has increased, and by how much. Simple.
Author: Junzo Sasamori Publisher: Tuttle Publishing ISBN: 1462903347 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 166
Book Description
"An excellent introduction to traditional Japanese swordsmanship."—Daily Yamiuri This book introduces Kendo, the exhilarating mental and physical sport of Japan that has gained new popularity, with both sexes now participating, its own evolution and the efforts of a remarkable group of teachers it has progressed through the years to its present position as a sport. This is Kendo is a fully illustrated introduction to the traditional art of Japanese fencing—its essential nature and its basic techniques. It is the first kendo book in English to describe and analyze this famous sport. Features include: Over 100 photographs and drawings Origin and History of Kendo Basic Kendo Principles and Techniques Traditions Governing Kendo Etiquette and Technique Important Strikes Offensive and Defensive Positions Training Exercises The paramount point to be remembered in this book on an ancient art is that no one really stops learning more about the people who invented armor and developed combat techniques. It is our hope that the reader will continue his study beyond the scope of this kendo guide.
Author: Denis Gainty Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1135069905 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 206
Book Description
In 1895, the newly formed Greater Japan Martial Virtue Association (Dainippon Butokukai) held its first annual Martial Virtue Festival (butokusai) in the ancient capital of Kyoto. The Festival marked the arrival of a new iteration of modern Japan, as the Butokukai’s efforts to define and popularise Japanese martial arts became an important medium through which the bodies of millions of Japanese citizens would experience, draw on, and even shape the Japanese nation and state. This book shows how the notion and practice of Japanese martial arts in the late Meiji period brought Japanese bodies, Japanese nationalisms, and the Japanese state into sustained contact and dynamic engagement with one another. Using a range of disciplinary approaches, Denis Gainty shows how the metaphor of a national body and the cultural and historical meanings of martial arts were celebrated and appropriated by modern Japanese at all levels of society, allowing them to participate powerfully in shaping the modern Japanese nation and state. While recent works have cast modern Japanese and their bodies as subject to state domination and elite control, this book argues that having a body – being a body, and through that body experiencing and shaping social, political, and even cosmic realities – is an important and underexamined aspect of the late Meiji period. Martial Arts and the Body Politic in Meiji Japan is an important contribution to debates in Japanese and Asian social sciences, theories of the body and its role in modern historiography, and related questions of power and agency by suggesting a new and dramatic role for human bodies in the shaping of modern states and societies. As such, it will be valuable to students and scholars of Japanese studies, Japanese history, modern nations and nationalisms, and sport and leisure studies, as well as those interested in the body more broadly.
Author: Yagyu Munenori Publisher: iUniverse ISBN: 0595279988 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 66
Book Description
The Way of the Living Sword is the final installment in D.E. Tarver's popular Warrior Series. It stands beside The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi as one of the greatest writings of the warrior mind. In The Way of the Living Sword, Munenori gives an in-depth explanation of the connection between physical martial arts and the mental process of Zen. While Munenori and Musashi were both avid students of Zen, Munenori was more fascinated by the academic aspects of the philosophy. Munenori stretches the consciousness of even the most enlightened martial artist. Martial arts devotees will experience many flashes of revelation as Tarver explores the various aspects of Munenori's approach. Read and grow!
Author: Alexander Bennett Publisher: Tuttle Publishing ISBN: 1462920071 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 547
Book Description
Part Samurai history, part martial arts guide, this is THE book for anyone interested in Japan's fabled Samurai culture. Author Alexander Bennett is the ultimate insider--holding multiple black belts in Kendo and Naginata, as well as a Ph.D. in Japanese literature and history. In this book he shares his vast personal experience and knowledge with readers seeking to undertake their own personal quest in the Japanese martial arts. Bennett outlines the Japanese history of Bushido and the Samurai--from early times up until the present. Then, as only someone steeped in this world can, he surveys the contemporary martial arts scene and provides the essential knowledge young foreigners need to find a teacher and learn successfully. Unlike any other book on this subject, Japan The Ultimate Samurai Guide is written by a Japanese speaker who has studied and taught martial arts in Japan for many decades. Chapters include: The Real Samurai The Concept of Bushido Development of the Japanese Martial Arts Martial Arts Masters You Should Know About Budo in Japan Today Key Martial Arts Concepts Life in a Japanese Dojo A Japan Survival Guide Written in a down-to-earth and easy-to-read style, this book will captivate anyone interested in Japan, as well as martial arts teachers and practitioners around the world. With both history and humor, this vividly illustrated book has a more personal touch than many (for example, read up on "Fifteen Famous Japanese Cultural Indiosyncrasies" and Bennett's favorite martial arts movies). As Bennett says, "This book is supposed to be genuinely from the heart. Without the pretense…misconceptions or romantization that often accompanies martial arts."
Author: David A. Hall Publisher: National Geographic Books ISBN: 1568364105 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
David A. Hall, one of today’s leading experts on Japanese combative culture, combines hands-on experience in a wide variety of martial traditions with an academic and religious background to produce this landmark work. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts is an exhaustive, impeccably researched reference offering information about everything there is to know on the subject, from "adauchi" (a vendetta) to "zanshin" (state of focused vigilance before, during, and after executing a technique or combative form). The volume opens with several sections to help make using the Encyclopedia as efficient and effective as possible: Abbreviations, Quick Guide to Weapons and Systems, Historical Eras, guides to the Entries and Lineage Charts, and A Note on the Japanese Language and Communication Style. The Encyclopedia itself, which runs for more than 625 pages and contains around 4,000 entries arranged alphabetically with bilingual entry headings and concise definitions, covers all aspects of the many different martial arts that have developed in Japan. Following the main portion of the work are several Appendices (Traditional East Asian Numbering Systems and Ancient Period Military Organization), as well as a Selected Bibliography, and Character Indices (General, Chinese, English, and Sanskrit) containing around 6,000 terms. With its vast wealth of information and practical organization, The Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts is sure to become the essential reference for the beginning martial artist, as well as for the advanced student who wants a deeper understanding of the subject. Additionally, the book is perfect for scholars and researchers, who will appreciate the access to material previously unavailable in English; and for reference libraries and Asian studies and language departments.
Author: John J. Donohue
Author: Alexander Bennett
Author: Geoff Salmon
Author: G Hurst I
Author: K. Black
Author: Junzo Sasamori
Author: Denis Gainty
Author: Yagyu Munenori
Author: Alexander Bennett
Author: David A. Hall